ANTIETAM: A Civil War Battle Documentary
Tidesadf for Colonel John B. Gordon, 6th Alabama [CONFEDERATE]
Colonel John B. Gordon was one of the commanding officers holding The Sunken Road, holding back numerous Union attacks. Commanding the 8th Alabama Volunteers, Gordon was seen walking back and forth along the farmlane rallying his men to keep firing into the advancing Federal lines. He was shot in the arm during the fighting.
In this quote, John Gordon is referring to the first volley fired by the Confederates into the first advancing Union brigade coming toward the Sunken Road, taking note of the vast amount of casualties caused by these first deadly shots.
“My rifles flamed and roared in the Federal’s faces like a blinding blaze of lightning, accompanied by the quick and deadly thunderbolt. The effect was appalling; the entire frontline, with few exceptions, went down in the consuming blast. Colonel John B. Gordon, commanding 6th Alabama Volunteers.”
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